Nowhere To Hide
by Force Of Death
Summary: "Tom's thin, almost non-existent lips curled into a somewhat sinister smile. "Good." He threw his wrist back in a neat flick, the word rolling off his tongue in a barely audible whisper. Wormtail retreated back into the shadows as his master contemplated the plan, smoothing out all the flaws in his head."
1. Prologue

Tom Riddle stared unblinkingly into the cackling flames, the only source of light in the dim room. Semi-consciously, he traced invisible lines in the air with his wand, stroking it. If the plan was carried out carefully, the boy wouldn't have a chance.

"Is it done?" he questioned the small figure beside the large armchair he was settled in, his face showing no emotion.

"Yes master, it's done," Wormtail whimpered, tripping over his words.

Tom's thin, almost non-existent lips curled into a somewhat sinister smile. "Good."

He threw his wrist back in a neat flick, the word rolling off his tongue in a barely audible whisper. Wormtail retreated back into the shadows as his master contemplated the plan, smoothing out all the flaws in his head.

...

"The four of you will be going to the muggle school," he said with an unfamiliar edge in his voice that none of the four students before him had heard before. "My decision is final." The headmaster added, glancing at Hermione, who opened her mouth to argue yet again. She snapped it shut hastily, red flooding her cheeks.

Harry studied the old man carefully for the first time in ten minutes, finding the sudden arrangement puzzling. His beard, which was streaked with numerous shades of gray was knotted just above his waist, as it was every day, but neater. His eyes had lost their usual twinkle and appeared slightly glassy 一 which was rather disturbing. Harry waved away the thought, deciding that it was just his own imagination.

There was nothing wrong with the professor. There couldn't and there wouldn't be.

"You will be leaving this weekend for Bethlem High. You may go." Dumbledore smiled in a way that did not reassure Harry. Not one bit.

...

Hermione was frowning, lost in her own thoughts as she shuffled back to her dormitory. Ron seemed fairly excited; he'd always wanted to go to a muggle school. It hadn't crossed his mind to find out the reason behind that decision. Draco simply stalked noiselessly away, his nose crinkling in distaste. Harry was just as troubled as Hermione, but went to pack all that was needed. The weekend was only two days away and they were excused from classes for a half hour to pack.

Harry's hands moved robotically, throwing in his newly-washed muggle clothes. He really ought to buy new ones. His were rather small and tattered and he only had a limited number that were decent enough. His collection of items could fit into one small trunk just fine.

Harry sighed, surveying his corner of the room. The messiest quarter had become the most empty, as well as the neatest. It looked like where a monk would sleep. He flung himself onto the bed, watching as Ron struggled to squeeze his things into the luggage.

It wouldn't be so bad, he assured himself. But the emptiness of his churning stomach which had nothing to do with lack of food told him otherwise. The boy's scar pricked lightly; it was no searing pain, but it worried him just as much.


	2. Chapter 1

Not often were there new people who arrived only just after Spring Break. Hermione tucked a lock of hair behind her ear awkwardly, looking down and trying to ignore the weird stares the four were getting. They didn't know what to do. Students were either rushing off to who knew where or loitering in front of lockers and classrooms.

...

The shrill bell reverberated through the building, sounding very much like sharpened nails dragged along the surface of a chalkboard, causing Harry and Ron to flinch. They were still struggling with their stubborn lockers that were right next to each other. It was their first confusing day at Bethlem High and they had lost both Hermione and Draco 一 not that they cared very much for the boy 一 in the sea of people. Having finally figured out their lockers and shoving their unneeded books inside, Harry and Ron slammed them shut with a resounding clang. Just then Hermione popped out from behind and ordered, "Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

"If we're gonna be late how come this crowd isn't thinning out?" Ron gestured crossly to the large crowd milling in the hallway.

"Haven't you heard the early bird catches the worm? Just hurry up!" Hermione snapped, clearly impatient.

"What's the worm supposed to be?" Ron questioned stupidly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stormed off, muttering something rude about boys. Sighing, Harry turned to Ron and said, "Come on, we better go, we don't want the teacher to have a bad first impression of us."

...

Just as they walked in the classroom, girls swarmed them like eagles spotting their prey. Ron glowed with delight and stood riveted to the spot exclaiming, "Wow, all this just for me?"

Clearly, he was wrong.

"What are you staring at loser?" A girl who had her face coated in a ridiculous amount of make-up spat, after surveying Ron with disgust.

Realizing that all of _this _was for Harry, Ron quickly closed his gaping mouth, a pink tinge appearing on his pale cheeks.

"Nothing, sorry..." Ron stammered as the girl strutted over to Harry.

"Hi, what's your name?" she flirted in a sickly-sweet voice as she shoved him into a seat next to hers.

"Harry, Harry Potter," he replied cautiously, pushing away the other girls that were clinging on to him.

A silence followed, broken by a loud squeal from one of the _other _girls, "OMG! Just like Harry Styles!"

The girl rolled her eyes and Harry hoped this Harry Styles guy wasn't a bad thing.

...

"Turn to page 27." The voice of the teacher couldn't be heard clearly at the far end of the classroom where Hermione Granger was sitting.

It was torture to sit at the back of the class; getting the teacher's attention was difficult and the people back there were mostly the rebels who didn't listen to anything. Their soft snickering and paper-throwing annoyed Hermione; sometimes making her wonder if they were laughing at her. Stealing a glance at Draco, who was unfortunately in her class, Hermione noticed with pleasure that he was in extreme discomfort, very unused to associating with muggles in any way. She wondered if Ron and Harry were having a good time, although she knew that they definitely weren't.

These were going to be longest weeks of their life.

...

Draco Malfoy had never felt so horrible. Trudging down the crowded hallways of Bethlem High only increased the pain. The word 'cute' echoed endlessly in his head. He did not want to talk about _that_. He was also said to be a striking replica of Tom Felton. He didn't even have any idea who that was.

"Thud!" Books scattered heavily to the floor.

Draco rubbed his sore forehead, furious and annoyed enough to stab someone. "Filthy muggle, what're your eyes for?"

The boy adjusted his spectacles, grinning widely instead of apologizing 一 much to Draco's disgust. "Muggle? Are you a fan of Harry Potter too?"

Draco snorted. Why would he be a fan of that idiotic boy? It was barely a day since they'd set foot in the school and people already knew him. He must be getting popular.

"What, Potter? You must be kidding. I couldn't hate him more," he spat, swiping his books into one hand quickly.

...

Simon didn't take his eyes of the blonde until he turned sharply around a corner. Interesting.

...

"Harry, sit with us?" Lindsay suggested sweetly as she sauntered out of the classroom, flanked by her two cronies, Casey and Kristina.

Harry shook his head. "No thanks, I'll just eat with my other friends."

Lindsay scoffed at Harry's choice of 'friends'. "You mean the red-head loser, Donald?"

"Ronald," Harry corrected before picking his pace up hastily.

...

Lindsay's lips were pressed into a thin line as she fell behind. She was going to get that boy no matter what. Whatever Lindsay Cole wanted, she got. And he was no exception.

...

Hermione Granger rushed into the cafeteria, her eyes sweeping across the place in search of her friends. Where were Harry and Ron? She needed to talk to them desperately, the golden trio almost never separated. It didn't feel right. Spotting the duo trying to balance their trays, she whisked around only to be hit by a milk carton. Milk splattered all over her dotting her once clean face and clothes with white.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" A male voice questioned, his words laced with genuine concern.

The whole cafeteria's attention was directed to the two. Blinking the milk out of her eyes, Hermione could not do anything but nod. Then she burst in an uncontrollable fit of giggles. The boy stared at her. Had she gone mad? Yet he couldn't help himself either as a string of laughter erupted from his throat. Soon, the whole cafeteria was drowned in laughter.

He offered Hermione a tissue, and she accepted it with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

The boy returned a cute half-smile. "I'm Xavier."

"Hermione." She let out a last, small giggle before Xavier was gone.

Harry and Ron approached Hermione warily, their mouths slightly open. "You've got some milk on your face," was the only sentence Ron could come up with at the moment.

Hermione laughed, wiping her face clean of milk. "I'm going to wash up first."

...

Xavier Cole had never felt so happy in his life. A girl who he had accidentally hit with a milk carton had laughed? If it were his sister, she would throw a big hissy fit. That girl, he definitely needed to know her better.

...

Ron, Hermione, Harry and Draco walked to their new apartment together.

"So," Hermione started, "how was your day?"

"Dreadful; girls hate me," Ron lamented, sighing.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It was okay," Harry answered with a hint of hesitation.

"That's just because girls like you," Ron muttered darkly, just loud enough for his best friend to hear.

"How about you Draco?" Hermione tried to include him and be friendly.

He hitched his bag higher up his shoulder.

Draco began, "It could have gone better. Some muggle asked if I was a fan of him." He jerked a finger at Harry. "Why would I be?"

"Well, that was weird..." Hermione agreed, "But anyway I'm sure we'll all get used to it soon enough."

A chorus of yeah-rights and sure followed.

Hermione Granger could only hope.


	3. Chapter 2

Draco Malfoy strolled towards his locker. Going to muggle school was pure torture; he hoped time would pass faster.

"Filthy muggles," he thought bitterly as the listless dragging of feet echoed in his mind. Even that was annoying Draco to an extent.

The bell sounded. He was late for class, not that he cared. The hallway cleared out as the muggle children scrambled to their lessons, filing in thick columns into the classrooms.

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over Draco. The big build of a boy visible in dark hues. Draco felt himself lifted by his collar roughly and shoved against a locker with a loud metallic thud. Draco squirmed and kicked to get free, to no avail. Without magic, he was totally helpless, he was kicking at air. His feet fell back, carelessly knocking the lockers behind. He would not win using force; the boy had a terrifyingly large advantage over himself. Stereotypically, boys with a build this big would barely have enough brain to fill a thimble. Draco believed that.

"Who do you think you are?" the bully demanded, the foul stench of his breath filling Draco's nostrils. "How can you just appear at _my_ school and steal my girlfriend, then walk around like you own the place?"

Draco was taken aback. He'd barely talked to any girls during his time here. How would he able to steal anyone's girlfriend? His palms were pressed onto the lockers, ready to strike. When the bully opened his mouth to repeat his question, he pushed hard against the metal behind, hitting the bully right in the head.

A bruise was quickly forming on the right side of the bully's forehead where he was rubbing it. When another evil grin started forming on the bully's face, he looked as though he had never even been in pain. Uh oh, maybe his plan wasn't so foolproof after all. That was the last thing Draco Malfoy thought before a punch landed squarely on Draco's nose, leaving him to fall in an abyss of darkness.

...

Ron Weasley had changed his mind about muggles. They weren't amazing; in contrast, they were horrible, to _him_. They were only nice to Harry Potter. Harry Potter; the great, the oh-so cute, replica of Harry Styles Harry Potter.

Ron had skipped class. They were horrible, boring as Umbridge's lessons, if possible, even more. As Ron rounded the corner, he saw a gigantic boy pinning a familiar-looking blonde to a locker. The blonde's head was dipped, and his body hung limp, as if he was unconscious.

"Bloody hell," he whispered as he caught a glimpse of the face of the blonde. It was Malfoy!

He cautiously approached the unconscious Malfoy and the boy. There was blood streaming from Malfoy's nose and a smudge of blood was smeared on the boy's hand which was raised in the air, a smirk was etched on the boy's face. It did not take Ron long to put two and two together.

...

Ron Weasley would later deny this, but he did not know what had overcome him when he whipped his wand out and muttered two words. Seconds later, Matthew Davies was ridden with utter shock and horror as his whole body felt as though it was encased in some kind of ice. Cold flowed though every cell of his body in waves and the tips of his fingers were already going numb. He couldn't comprehend what exactly was happening at that moment, before he slammed onto the floor, unable to move and break his fall. Lying like a block of wood, he caught sight of a red-head scrambling to help the blonde up, before his eyes were forced shut.

Hours later, when the nurse came out of her office, she was greeted with Draco Malfoy, his face sticky with blood, and Matthew Davies, paralyzed.


End file.
